NEWS RELEASE

Alexandria, VA—Donjon-SMIT, LLC, an OPA-90 Alliance, has received unconditional approval from the U.S. Coast Guard for its Salvage, Marine Firefighting and Lightering Contract and Funding Agreement. The Coast Guard’s full acceptance of the contract means that Donjon-SMIT, LLC now has the required approvals for a mechanism to contract with vessel owners needing salvage and marine response services required under OPA-90, and stipulated in the Salvage and Marine Firefighting Requirements; Vessel Response Plans for Oil; Final Rule dated December 31, 2008.

The contract fully meets the Coast Guard’s 33 Code of Federal Regulations 155.4025 definition of “contract or other approved means,” including the “funding agreement” component of that definition.

“Donjon-SMIT is most pleased by this approval by the Coast Guard. It opens the door to offer our array of salvage-related OPA-90 services to all of our current and potential clients under the new regulations soon to go into effect,” said Paul Hankins, Vice President, Operations. “Donjon-SMIT, with its expertise, assets, and now a Coast Guard approved contracting mechanism, is ready to begin implementing new standby-services contracts well ahead of schedule,” he said.

To see the full view of the Coast Guard’s letter of approval, click on the letter below:

The definition of a primary resource provider in the new OPA-90 USCG regulations:

Primary resource provider means a resource provider listed in the vessel response plan as the principal entity contracted for providing specific salvage and/or marine firefighting services and resources, when multiple resource providers are listed for that service, for each of the COTP zones in which a vessel operates. The primary resource provider will be the point of contact for the planholder, the Federal On Scene Coordinator (FOSC) and the Unified Command, in matters related to specific resources and services, as required in § 155.4030(a).

Donjon-SMIT can be you’re primary resource provider for OPA 90 CONUS and OCONUS response coverage.

Outside continental United States (OCONUS) means Alaska, Hawaii, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, and any other territory or possession of the United States.

Continental United States (CONUS) means the contiguous 48 States and the District of Columbia.

Donjon-SMIT is there for you when your vessel needs assistance.  The top ten reasons that you should choose Donjon-SMIT to be your OPA-90 response provider – for your marine salvage, firefighting and lightering needs:

1. Safety record;
2. Integral Part of SMT;
3. No retainer fee;
4. Our breadth of equipment/logistics;
5. Our experience of personnel;
6. Our proven support to government;
7. Our organic firefighting capability;
8. Our corporate experience/history;
9. Our strategic response partners; and,
10. Our environmental diligence.

Donjon-SMIT would like to thank everyone who stopped by and chatted with us about our services at the 2009 CMA conference.  We had a great time this year, and we look forward to seeing everyone next year.

If you have any additional questions and needs, please don’t hesitate to contact us.  We look forward to providing you the best there is to offer in marine salvage and OPA-90 coverage.

Our new 2009 Brochure has just arrived!  Download and view it to see our offered services and OPA-90 regulation update.

Donjon-SMIT 2009 – Excellence In Marine Casualty Response

March 23rd to March 25th, 2009

Donjon-SMIT looks forward to meeting you at CMA’s Shipping 2009 conference in Stamford CT.  We look forward to helping ship owners and operators on fullfilling the OPA-90 salvor and firefighter requirements.  We’ll be at booth 18, so stop on by!

More information on CMA’s conference can be found at:

http://www.shipping2009.com/

From the American Salvage Association on January 9th, 2009:

Washington, DC – The American Salvage Association (ASA) is pleased with the announcement on December 30 that the United States Coast Guard’s Marine Salvage and Firefighting Regulations have been posted for public inspection and were published on December 31st in the Federal Register.

The long-awaited marine salvage and firefighting regulations are expected to go into  effect within 30 days of their publication and will provide for the customary 18-month period for compliance.

The regulations, called for in the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 after the Exxon Valdez casualty, are more important now than ever before as the nation faces the threat of terrorist incidents in the marine transport sector, be they in ports, terminals or aboard ships as well as the recent impacts on the marine community resulting from severe weather. While government has been working to prevent terrorist incidents from occurring, an efficient, professional, specialized response capability for marine disasters is required. Professional marine salvors often serve as first responders at the time of marine incidents, working quickly to minimize damage and expedite recovery.  By promulgating these critically important regulations, the U.S. Coast Guard would not only improve the nation’s marine environmental protection capability, it would also improve the nation’s homeland security and terrorist response capabilities.

ASA expressed its gratitude for their hard work in seeing these regulations come to fruition to ASA past presidents J. Arnold Witte, Richard Fairbanks, George Wittich and John A. Witte; Jr., along with the actions of Admiral Thad Allen and RADM Brian Salerno, USCG.

“We are so pleased with the announcement of the promulgation of the salvage and firefighting regulations,” said John A Witte, Jr., ASA President. “These regulations will go a long way toward ensuring that the nation is ready and has the capability to respond to accidental or terrorist events in the marine sector that require a professional salvage response.”

The American Salvage Association is the trade association promoting professionalism and improving marine casualty response in North American coastal and inland waters. Visit www.americansalvage.org.